The present invention relates generally to disc cutterbars used for severing standing crop material by impact action and, more particularly, to an improved end rotor assembly operable to clean dirt and debris from the interior chamber thereof during operation.
Disc mower-conditioners of the type shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,797 issued on Sept. 10, 1985, to Kenneth W. McLean, for example, utilize a disc cutterbar having a pair of opposing end disc members equipped with a hat-shaped divider member mounted thereon to facilitate the flow of crop material over the cutterbar. One embodiment of such an end disc member can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,185, issued on Jan. 31, 1984.
It has been found that these end rotor divider members consistently fill with airborne particles of the crop material being harvested by the disc mower-conditioner. The filling of the interior chambers of the divider members by such particles creates an imbalance in the rotor, resulting in damage to interior bearing seals and occasionally resulting in the combustion of the hay particles within the interior chamber from heat due to increased friction. Various attempts to seal the divider member to prevent the introduction of debris therewithin were not found to be successful.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a mechanism for cleaning debris from within the interior chamber of the divider members that would be operable during the rotating movement of the rotor.